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Millions of Americans Have MAXED OUT Their Credit Cards... And Can't Pay Them Off

Edwards Economics

42,038 views

Americans are drowning in credit card debt, and the balances people are posting online are worse than the headlines suggest. In this video I go through firsthand clips of people revealing what they actually owe, what they put on the card, and what their minimum payment does to the balance each month. Credit cards stopped being a backup for a lot of households and became part of monthly survival: groceries, rent, utilities, car repairs, medical bills. Once that happens the math turns against you fast. We run the real numbers on interest, on how much of a minimum payment actually touches the principal, and on how long a maxed out card takes to clear if nothing changes. This is not a video about people being bad with money. Plenty of them earn a normal income. It is about how a revolving balance quietly becomes a second rent payment, and what it takes to break the cycle.

1. How much is your credit card bill each month?
2. What was the expense that first put you into revolving debt?
3. Can anyone get out on minimum payments alone, or does something have to change?

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Chapters:
00:45 $126,383 Credit Card Debt
04:18 Maxed Out to Invest in Real Estate
08:42 Emptied 401(k) To Pay Credit Card Debt
13:57 Went Into Debt for Disneyland
17:06 Exposing Credit Card Debt
20:49 Credit Score Spiraled Down In Just 1 Year
24:45 Buying A Car Through Credit Card

#creditcarddebt #debt #personalfinance #costofliving

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20 Comments

@EdwardsEconomics Creator 2 weeks ago Pinned

How much is your credit card bill each month?

@NotinMyBudget 2 weeks ago

Used to be me. Broke the habit and have been debt free since March.

@ashog1426 2 weeks ago

I just paid all my CC’s off. Now my goal is my mortgage.

@justifiedmasagony3635 2 weeks ago (edited)

Im out here feeling bad buying a $20 polo shirt with no debt and then I see these people 😂

@Ms.B.Warren 13 days ago

I paid off $47k in CC debt over 25 years ago. It was the hardest 10 years of my life. I had absolutely NO help and all of the debt wasn't even mine.😢 At one point I was working 3 jobs. I even gave up my car which was the cruelest cut of all. But I learned a lot about myself, about others, and about money. I thank God EVERY day for the lessons learned, the strength given and built, and bringing me through it all.🙏🏾

@pspauld 2 weeks ago

Never carry a balance. Paid off every month. I'm what they call a deadbeat. I use my credit card all the time for groceries, gas, etc. pay it off and earn points to help pay for next month's gas & groceries. I just live below my means. Car paid off 15 years ago.

Financial literacy is desperately needed out there. And stop buying into the propaganda of consumerism. The system wants you in revolving debt and never owning anything. Buy now, pay later is vile opportunism.

@robertwendal5894 2 weeks ago

Maybe going to Europe on credit without anykind of emergency fund is a bad idea.

@rather_unique 2 weeks ago

I enrolled in a debt relief program. I'll be rid of ALL my credit cards in two years. All I'll have left is my student loans

@XxMurkUrDeathXx 2 weeks ago

I'm so happy I didn't go straight for credit cards when I graduated high school and went straight to work, and got credit cards after I had an actual job to use the credit cards the right way.

@fredwaggoner1561 2 weeks ago

I am debt free and it gets tight at times with no debt I can't even imagine being over $100,000.00 in debt. Just think where we could be if not for the debt. Thanks for helping to educate people.

@LifewithTee76 2 weeks ago (edited)

I pay credit cards off every month in the month of the transactions. I was in over 30k of credit card debt when I was younger. Once I got out of that mess I never looked back. I don’t even risk it anymore with any temptation of carrying a balance. I have no experience flipping property. I will stick it out in the stock market. The only real estate is my primary residence.

@carminestokes6376 8 days ago

i was maxed in cc around 22 yrs am 40 now been debt free since 26 yrs never again..

@eatatjoes-vz7hh 13 days ago

withdrawing money from IRA. 10% penalty fee and taxed as regular income. If she didn't have it taken out already, she's in for a rude awakening when she does her tax return.

@mhodge0890 2 weeks ago

I still remember the feeling of paying off my two maxed out credit card

@AngelStormee 13 days ago

Best thing about life’s lessons, is it’s interest free and free.

@Hanirooo 13 days ago

The biggest thing with debt consolidation loans is that people tend to fall back into the same debt. This happened to me. I did took out a debt consolidation loan, and I ended up rocking the same amount that was on the loan and the second time what I took out a consolidation loan I cut up all of my credit cards besides one that only has $1000 limit on it and I haven’t been putting any money on my cards since then.

@UnknownJorge 11 days ago

I’m about 10k in CC debt after my wife had to stop working this past February due to cancer… That said, she is not on remission, alive, and well. We adjusted our living situation to lower our monthly bills, and while barely getting by until she can start working again (wish her luck on her two job interviews this week) we have managed to stop the financial bleeding. Seeing these people be tens of thousands of dollars and basically doing nothing about it is crazy to me.

@CaitlynNoel67 13 days ago (edited)

My credit just increased 98 points this week!!! 🙌 I only care about my credit score right now, I'm trying to buy my first house in like 3 months, it's easier to get it done quickly with a good/great score. Once that's done, I really won't gaf 😂❤

@FullMetalRocker 2 weeks ago (edited)

My credit card gets paid off every month. I'm not about to fall for that crap. The interest keeps you trapped.

I'm 2 years out from paying off my student loans! Then I'll only have my mortgage

@neji9012 13 days ago

Largest amount I paid off was ~22 K debt. I finished my Residency/Fellowship training for Internal Medicine + Sub special. Studying for board exams, no income for 4 months, plus was living in DC prior to this. Once I started working my official job, was able to pay that off RAPIDLY, but that was the highest amount of credit card debit I've EVER HAD. it was 4 months of Rent, House Bills, Groceries, Medical Exam (~2.5 K), so alot of stuff added up lol.